A Clare Valley village that's a food and wine haven

It may only be a tiny speck on the map, but the hamlet of Auburn in South Australia's Clare Valley punches well above its weight in the gourmet food and wine stakes. 

Chef Dan Moss, just 30, specialises in local flavours (all ingredients are sourced within 100 miles) at his Terroir restaurant, while you'll find some of the best pub grub in the state at revamped Rising Sun Hotel next door. 

Across the road, the new Clare Valley Brewing tasting room offers a range of local beers and ciders on tap (the Miss Molly Grape cider is outstanding), as well as wines from Jeanneret and Good Catholic Girl. 

The Grosset, Mount Horrocks and Taylors cellar doors are other local attractions and there is comfortable accommodation to be found at Mellers of Auburn (formerly Cygnets), which has a lovely garden and cafe.

Considered the southern gateway to the Clare Valley, the town is on the Horrocks Highway, approximately 111 kilometres from Adelaide and 25 kilometres south of the township of Clare. It marks the start of the Riesling Trail, a popular walking and cycling trail through vineyards that uses an old railway line. 

Auburn has just been named in the Top 10 destinations for a “Foodie Weekend” in Australian Traveller Magazine. Some of Australia’s top food and travel journalists, including yours truly, nominated the country’s best new food weekends as part of their Hot List. 

You'll find the full list of Hot Weekend destinations here: http://www.australiantraveller.com/food-and-wine/the-foodie-weekend-hot-list-2014/  

For more details on the Clare Valley and what to do, see: http://www.clarevalley.com.au/